The Mysteries of Q
by Lady Wisiaden
Summary: The Riddler finds himself in a new strange situation. Hopefully, everything will end well.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Mysteries of Q

**Rating:** T

**Warning/Notes:**

I have never written a Batman fanfiction. Although, I thought I will give it a shot especially since I've gained a plot idea. But whether I can write it is another thing. I would appreciate any comments and criticism you have. Please do tell me if I have the Riddler's character down or not. I'm not sure if I'm writing his personality accurately. I'm not sure what else I have to say. It will probably come up later though. Thank you and enjoy reading hopefully.

-Wisia

* * *

**Chapter One**

The Riddler was used to finding himself in strange situations. There was hardly a moment where he did not find himself in a strange situation. On the contrary, if nothing strange happened, he was sure that strange thing would happen. But, he supposed it depended on one's definition of strange. And his definition of strange was certainly milder than one would think to use. His definition of strange meant being chased by bats, always changing lairs every so often and breaking out of Arkham when he could feasibly do so. The Riddler's definition of strange was, however, quite apt for an infamous rogue of Gotham City.

Therefore when the Riddler came to, after a night of robbery and running from the Batman, in an unknown room it was not strange at all. He only knew that where ever he was, he was safe for an undetermined amount of time. The Riddler felt he could assume that accurately because his shoulder was bandaged from a nasty wound he had received and his head didn't quite hurt so much as it should, given the concussion he had probably gotten in the tussle. The only thing that puzzled him, which he really would like to solve, was how he ended up in this place all fixed up.

He was sure it wasn't any of his hench girls. In fact, his last Query was incarcerated not too long ago and, unfortunately and thankfully, quite permanently. He hadn't got around to hiring another which explained the horrible condition he found himself in last night. What was he thinking when he went alone? He had barely made it past several blocks before collapsing. Batman did pack a rather powerful punch after all. The Riddler felt quite lucky that someone, whoever he was, had found him before the Batman did. Although, it really pained him to know that someone had found him in that humiliating state.

The Riddler decided to see if he could move a little. Getting up with a grunt, he noticed that he was on a very comfortable bed with a dark blue comforter. His green suit, nicely mended and pressed, was sitting on the small table next to his bed. His shoulder didn't feel too bad. Perhaps, he could get out of bed.

"Don't you dare move!"

A rather low but feminine voice called out. A female with short black hair and green eyes glared at him while holding a tray with a bowl of stew. She pursed her lips in aggravation, storming into the room and placed the tray next to his suit. She prodded him in the shoulder.

"Don't touch me! That hurts!"

It really did, and the Riddler didn't really want to find out how much more pain he would experienced if she poked him again. Almost deliberately, she poked him on his uninjured shoulder.

"I just did," she smirked.

"Now, how are you feeling?"

"How do you think I feel?"

The Riddler felt really annoyed. What was the point of patching someone up and then, poking him?

"I guess I'll take that as good then. Now, what do you remember?"

"Why don't you tell me what you know?"

He examined his shoulder. At least it wasn't hard enough of a poke to give him a bruise. One of his ex-hench girls always poked him hard enough to bruise. He really didn't know why he'd hired her in the first place.

"I don't really think you are in a position to question me. Besides, you're the Riddler. You should have the answers."

He glared at her.

"I'll have you know that just because I'm the Riddler, it doesn't mean I'm a mind reader. I can only assume that you found me and, for some unfathomable reason, hid me from the Batman."

"Oh, the Bat was after you? Fancy that."

"I'm a criminal. Of course, the Batman would be after me."

The Riddler wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that he landed a savior like this girl he was dealing with.

"I was being sarcastic, but apparently you're too stupid to understand that. The Riddler is smart? Doesn't seem like it."

"That was sarcasm? That is not sarcasm!"

"Of course it is sarcasm. My brand of sarcasm."

He didn't hide his gesture of smacking his head against his hands.

"Anyway, you're in the custody of Myst Terry," Myst grinned.

"Mystery?" The Riddler blinked.

"No, Myst. Myst Terry," Myst said.

He was doomed. The Riddler felt sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** The Mysteries of Q

**Rating:** T

**Warnings/Notes:**

Hello everyone! Thanks for the review, or even just reading my fanfic. It makes me very happy. Anyway, here is the next chapter of MoQ. I don't have much else to say in this chapter either, so enjoy!

-Wisia

* * *

**Chapter Two**

He had been trapped in the girl's place for three days and counting. The Riddler felt an urgent need to move to someplace more secure. Except, he couldn't. Myst refused to let him leave. It was irritating. He didn't like staying in one place too long, especially with someone that made him want to go back to Arkham. Willingly. Eddie reflected morosely that it was almost like staying with one of his Queries. His hench girls always drove him nuts. He certainly had a knack for picking undesirable hench girls.

She had mentioned that she was a nurse, but had higher aspirations. He thought that was a good point because it meant he was patched up properly. Yet, it also meant he couldn't leave. The woman was too cautious. As if he hadn't suffered more fatal wounds and lived through them. Really, one bullet wasn't going to kill him. Although, she might. At the moment, Myst was out, shopping for groceries or something. He didn't know and he didn't really care. Eddie had a good chance of leaving yesterday. He was intending to sneak out during the middle of the night. But it was ruined by the news cast report on the Joker's latest criminal activity. The police and the Bat would be combing the streets for the Joker. He didn't want to risk it. He had a strong self of preservation after all.

He slowly pushed himself off the bed. He had legs; maybe he could do a little exploring. Get some papers and what not. After all, even if he was injured he was a busy man. The Riddler needed a new scheme, one better than the last. The first thing he noticed was the white and black checkered carpet. It wasn't really odd, but how many people actually had a checkered carpet? Most people were too lazy to change their carpet, leaving the color just as it was.

Eddie easily made his way into the living room. Now, he just needed to find paper…and a pencil. There was a grand crystal chessboard on top of the television. However, every single piece was missing saved the king, the queen and a toppled pawn. Next to the television was a good sturdy bookcase. Perhaps, he could find a blank notebook there. Rip some pages out or something. He crouched down and examined the books. Eddie didn't hide his disgust. There were books on fashion, clothes from ages past and magazines on the best colors for each season. There were random books about royalty, How To books and a book about females in the animal kingdom. There was only one notebook, but it was filled with sketches of dress designs and the random paragraph about what type of cloth or needle was best. If this was the girl's higher aspiration, he pitied her. What kind of dream was that?

Leaving the bookcase, he moved back down the hall where his room was. There were other doors. Maybe, his prize would be in one of them. Eddie opened the door to his left. Nope. It was just the bathroom with a funky looking bumblebee clock on the wall. A queen bee sat in the center, while the two worker bees on the hands moved around her. He suppressed a shudder. The door to his right opened up to another bedroom, Myst's, he presumed. There was a plain bed in dark purple with a giant Q on the center of the blanket. However, not wanting to venture in unless he had to, Eddie closed the door.

The last door at the end of the hall was painted a dark purple with a black Q in an elaborate flourish. The Riddler carefully turned the handle to see a workroom with mounds of fabrics, ribbons and threads. There was a dark red ball gown, nicely made. There was also a shimmery blue evening gown. He pushed his way through. What use were gowns and fashion to him? Ah, next to the sewing machine was a large round table. There were piles of paper on it, as well as a jar full of pens and pencils. Just what he was looking for.

He grabbed a couple of sheet and a pen, and sat down in the chair. As Eddie prepared to write down anagrams, he saw a loose sheet of paper underneath some books. It was stained green. Curious, he pulled it out. As he studied it, his eyes grew round in bewilderment. The Riddler's eyes quickly darted around the room before seeing the dress in the far right corner of the room. He went to it, and checked the image against the paper. It was half finished, but it was quite clear what the dress was. Perhaps, he wasn't as doomed as he thought he was.

"What are you doing in here?"

Eddie turned to see Myst glaring at him from the doorway. She stalked into the room, snatching the sheet away from him.

"You have no right to be in here!"

"I was looking for some papers to plan out my next scheme."

He supposed a bit of honesty wouldn't be misplaced.

"Well, you could have asked," Myst fumed. She folded the paper and slipped it into her jean pocket. She breathed slowly, calming herself down a little.

"Anyway, I have several bags of groceries. If you could come into the kitchen, I can start on lunch."

He watched as she walked out of the room. Eddie followed, but paused. He threw a glance back at the dress in the shadows. As calmly as he could, he said, "So, why are you making a costume that looks like my hench girls's costumes?"

Myst froze in front of him. The Riddler smirked, and closed the purple door.

"Care to enlighten me?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** The Mysteries of Q

**Rating:** T

**Warnings/Notes:**

Good day folks! Here is the last chapter of MoQ. I never really meant for this fanfiction to be very long. Just something fun for me to write, but I hope you all enjoy reading it. I will say that I have an idea for another Batman fiction starring the Riddler. It will be longer than this fanfiction, and I think it will be challenging to write. It is going to be taxing on my writing skills, but I would like to try. As much as I would like to mention what the plot is, that's giving too much away. Besides, I think you want to read and not listen to my random rambles. So, happy reading.

-Wisia

* * *

**Chapter Three**

The Riddler was really enjoying himself. The look on her face was too amusing for him. Myst's eyes harden, and she turned away from Eddie. She stiffly went down the hall.

"I'm not telling you. You don't need to know."

Eddie trailed after Myst into the kitchen where she was slamming a pot onto the stove. The impact was so hard, water sloshed over the side. She cursed underneath her breath.

"Why not?"

"Because you don't need to know."

Myst was now putting away the rest of the groceries. Eddie watched as she neatly put away the cans in the pantry, before tossing the half empty grocery bag inside. It landed with a loud thump. Yup, she was angry.

"I think I should know. What if I'm in the hands of a psychotic fan? Or is it stalker?"

Her jaw was taunt, "Can you just drop the topic?"

"Nope."

As Myst threw the pasta into the boiling water, she took the time to breathe deeply before facing Eddie.

"Does it really matter if you know?"

Well, in all honesty it didn't matter to Eddie that much. It was just curiosity, good old curiosity that peak his interest. It was just luck that he had someone saved him from the Bat, and just coincidence that Myst had a hench girl's costume. And not just any hench girl's costume but his. All right, it did matter to Eddie. It did matter, but he wasn't going to let her know that.

"Not really," Eddie said lightly.

Her lips were pressed together so tightly it looked like a single pink line.

"Then you don't need to know."

"I said that it doesn't matter if I know. I know you made the costume. I want to know why."

Eddie wondered if he should provoke her any further.

"There's a reason, but I'm not telling you. Actually," Myst paused. She drained the pasta with a colander.

"Since you are the Riddler, why don't you tell me?"

Eddie slightly regretted the fact he said something similar to that upon meeting her.

"I'm not a mind reader."

"I know you're not. But, you're smart."

He felt his ego inflate a bit.

"So, I'll cut you a deal. You answer a riddle and I'll tell you," Myst smirked, "And if you can figure out what that riddle means in relation to me within a month, I'll even become your next Query. After all, you don't have one at the moment, do you?"

That Eddie could do. He could do it very well. Myst was too arrogant to think she could outwit him. He was the Riddler, which apparently she didn't quite get. And it wasn't a bad deal. He had the upper hand, and he would gain the most out of it. Eddie wouldn't need to waste money on a useless hench girl. Myst would do just fine; her being a nurse was an added bonus. The way he saw it, Myst would give him an increased chance of surviving encounters with the Bat.

"What's the riddle then?"

"What is a queen when it's not a queen?"

Then, Myst finished fixing lunch up for them both. They ate quietly. Neither of them felt like talking. Eddie could see the metaphorical stars dancing around Myst. She really thought she caught him. Too bad for her, she gave away too much. Eddie finished his last mouthful of pasta. He had a good hand indeed.

"A pawn…or dead."

"Say, what?"

Myst choked on her food.

"I said a pawn, the answer to your riddle." He smirked.

"And the relation of the riddle to you is so ridiculously easy. Anyone with eyes can answer the riddle as well as the second part. It's splattered all over your house."

Myst looked around the room with surprise and shock.

"The Q on the door to your fashion things probably stands for queen. You don't want to be an ordinary citizen, doing ordinary things in Gotham. You want to be more than that. You said you had higher aspirations then being a nurse. I don't think I need to comment on all the royalty and queen related things you have here."

Eddie was feeling very satisfied. Myst didn't say anything, but got out of her chair to put the dishes away. The silence went on for a minute before she spoke.

"I guess I was really silly for thinking you couldn't answer a riddle."

Eddie didn't say a word.

"I don't really have any special reason for why I made a Riddler's hench girl costume. I just love designing clothes. And I didn't like the costumes your girls wear. So, I made my own version."

"I see."

"I'm not a stalker!"

"No. You're going to be my new Query."

It was all good. He had his riddles. He had his health (for now). He had a new hench girl, who looked like she wanted to jump off a building, but well he had one. Strange occurrences in his life were rather normal. And this strange event that made him rather pleased.


End file.
